Page-turning assembly



March 5, 1968 E. c. BARBERA 3,371,571

PAGE-TURNING ASSEMBLY Filed Dec. 50, 1964 FIG. I. 34 3 FIG. 2A.

INVENTOR EDMUND C. BARBERA ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,371,571 PAGE-TURNING ASSEMBLY Edmund C. Barbera,55 Hillandale Road, Rye, N.Y. 10580 Filed Dec. 30, 1964, Ser. No.422,310 7 Claims. (Cl. 84-502) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A page-turningapparatus for a book which includes an easel for supporting a book in anupright, open position. A shaft extends transversely with the easel andis mounted for turning movement about an axis parallel and offset fromthe spine of a book supported on the easel. Arms extend laterally fromopposite ends of the shaft and include page-gripping fingers whichnormally overlie and engage the page adjacent the upper and lower edgesof the book. The invention further includes means for biasing the shaftin one direction and means for rotating the shaft in the oppositedirection to move the arms through a page-turning sweep of substantialcircumference so that the uppermost page at one side of the book isturned by the gripping fingers to the other side of the book as thefingers move laterally out of gripping contact with the page.

This invention relates to improvements in page-turning assemblies.

So-called page-turning assemblies have been utilized for turning thepages of a book without the need for actually touching the book by theoperator. Such page-turning assemblies have been of particular advantagein the music field where, for example, by operating a foot pedal amusician may turn the pages of the music without the necessity of takinghis hands off the instrument.

Additionally, similar page-turning assemblies have been foundparticularly advantageous in hospitals where patients who are otherwiseprevented from moving their hands may still have the pages of a bookautomatically turned without the need to touch the leaves of the book.

While a number of such page-turning assemblies have been disclosed inthe prior art, they all suffer from the same disadvantages in that theyare unnecessarily complicated in construction and they are uneconomicalto manufacture.

One example of the prior art type of page-turning assembly is shown inPatent No. 2,236,337, issued to C. Eccher on Mar. 25, 1941. This patentdiscloses a music rack for mounting a book in an upright position. Twoshafts are rotatably mounted thereon and are respectively offset to theright and to the left of the spine of the book. The shafts are providedwith right and left hand frames which normally respectively surround theedges of the right hand and left hand pages of the book. Each frame isadapted to be rotated 180 upon depression of an appropriate foot pedal.Two laterally spaced magnetic armatures are provided along the outeredge of the left hand page and two laterally spaced magnetic armaturesare provided along the outer edge of the right hand page; the armatureson the right hand page and the'armatures on the left hand page arepositioned so they do not overlie each other when the pages aresuperimposed on one another. The right hand frame is provided with twomagnets which are positioned to overlie and contact the armatures on theleft hand page when said right hand frame is rotated 180. Similarly, theleft hand frame is provided with two magnets which are positioned tooverlie and contact the armatures on the right hand page when the lefthand frame is rotated 180 to contact the right hand page. The assemblyis operated by depressing either the pedal which controls the left handframe or the pedal which controls the right hand frame thereby rotatingthe ice particular frame approximately 180 until the magnets associatedwith that frame contact the armatures on the opposite page. The frameis'biased back to its normal position and, in rotating back to itsnormal position, the frame carries the page with it because of theattraction between the magnets and the armatures. Since the axis ofrotation of the frame is offset with respect to the spine of the bookthe frame will move laterally out of contact with the page after thelatter is turned'to the other side of the book thereby effecting theturning of the pages of the book. This device suffers from the inherentdrawbacks that the length of the frames must be readjusted each time adifferent book is placed on the rack so the frames lie just outside theedges of the book. Moreover, the frames must be rotated a full 180before the page is contacted and then the frame must be rotated backwardto turn the page. Thus, this type of assembly unnecessarily increasespageturning time. This drawback is of particular importance when theassembly is utilized in conjunction with a music book where the pagesmust be turned practically instantaneously. Furthermore, the magnets andthe associated armatures must be positioned exactly on center else thedevice will be inoperative (i.e. the magnets will not contact theassociated armatures). It is therefore obvious that a device such asthat described above is unnecessarily cornplicated in construction andextremely time consuming to operate.

The present invention relates to a page-turning assembly which isconsiderably simpler in construction than those of the prior art and, inparticular, that disclosed in the above-noted patent to Eccher. Thus,the present invention comprises an easel which is provided with meansfor supporting a book in an upright, open position. A shaft extendstransversely with the easel and is mounted for turning movement about anaxis which is parallel to and offset from the spine of a book supportedon the easel. A pair of arms project laterally from opposite ends of theshaft and terminate in magnets which are positioned to normally overlieand engage the respective upper and lower edges of a page at one side ofthe book. The upper and lower edges of the book are pro- I vided withstrips of magnetic material. A spring biases the shaft in a normaldirection in which the magnets are maintained in engagement with themagnetic strips on said one side of the book. Means are provided forselectively rotating the shaft in a direction opposite to e the normaldirection to move the arms through a pageturning sweep of approximatelywhereby the uppermost page at the one side of the book is turned (by theattractive force between the magnets and the magnetic strips) to theother side of the book. Since the axis of the rod is offset from thespine of the book the magnets move laterally out of contact with thepage as the page is turned to the other side of the book. It is anobject of the present invention to provide a page-turning assembly whichis extremely simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

The above and other objects and features of the present invention willbecome more apparent from a consideration of the following detaileddescription in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the page-turning assembly of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a rear elevation view, with parts broken away, of the deviceshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary detailed view, to enlarged scale, of therotation device shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 is second embodiment of the present invention to a smaller scaleThe figures are substantially to scale of a working model of theinvention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device of the present invention comprises aneasel which, in the preferred embodiment, may be composed of wood. Easel10 is connected to a conventional music stand which comprises a rod towhich the supporting legs 16 are connected. This mechanism isconventional and will not be described in detail, it being understoodthat legs 16 may be folded to be parallel with an superimposed upon tube15.

An angle iron 11, having an outwardly projecting leg 11A and downwardlyprojecting leg 11B, is mounted on easel 10 by screws 12 which passthrough appropriate apertures in leg 11B and are screwed into easel 10.Bands 13A, 13B are respectively located adjacent each end of angle iron11 and contain extensions (not shown) which are sandwiched between theback of angle iron 11 and easel 10 to frictionally maintain bands 13A,13B in place. Bands 13A, 13B respectively contain downwardly extendingbores 14A, 14B therethrough. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, leg 11A of angleiron 11 is adapted to support the bottom edge of a book thereon.

A shaft 30 extends transversely with easel 10 and is rotatably mountedon the rear of easel 10 by a pair of bands 31 which are respectivelylocated adjacent the upper and lower edges of easel 10. As shown inFIGS. 2 and 2A, bands 31 extend laterally across shaft 30 and areprovided with a raised center portion which receives shaft 30 therein.Screws 32 pass through appropriate apertures adjacent each end of thebands 31 to maintain the bands in position. Washers 33 are affixed toshaft 30 above bands 31 to prevent the downward movement of shaft 30relative to easel 10.

A pair of arms 34 and 35 extend laterally from opposite ends of shaft 30and terminate in respective projections 36 and 37 which extendtransversely toward each other. Projections 36 and 37 have respectivemagnets 38 and 39 connected to their ends, in any conventional manner asby inserting the magnets in wire loops which surround the peripheries ofthe magnets. As shown in FIG. 1, magnets 38 and 39 are in the form ofrectangles and are positioned to respectively overlie and engage therespective upper and lower edges of book 20. The coiled torsion springs40 and 41 are located adjacent the ends of shaft 30 and bias shaft 30 ina normal or counterclockwise direction as taken in FIG. 1 to maintainmagnets 38 and 39 in engagement with the left hand page of book 20.Thus, spring 40 is provided with transversely extending ends 40A and 40Bwhich respectively engage arm 34 and the top edge of easel 10 therebybiasing arm 34 to the left. Similarly, spring 41 is provided withtransversely extending ends 41A and 4113 which respectfully engage arm35 and the bottom edge easel 10 thereby biasing arm 35 to the left. Book20 is provided with strips 42 adjacent the upper and lower edges of theleft hand and right hand pages. These strips may be of paramagnetic orferromagnetic material; however, ferromagnetic strips are preferable inthe present invention. These strips may be connected to the respectivepages by any conventional means as by glueing. Moreover, the strips needonly extend inwardly from the outer edges of the book a short distancesuflicient to allow the magnets 38 and 39 to contact the strips 42rather than having the strips extend the full width of the pages.Magnets 38 and 39 act as gripping fingers which grip the left hand pageby means of the magnetic coupling between magnets 38 and 39 and strips42.

Arms 34 and 35 and therefore projections 36 and 37 are adapted to make apage-turning sweep of approximately 150. That is, magnets 38 and 39 areadapted to be rotated from the left hand side of easel 111 to the righthand side of easel 10. This rotation is effected by the rotationmechanism indicated generally by the numeral 42. More particularly,rotation mechanism 42 includes an outwardly extending rod 43 having aperpendicularly downwardly projecting portion 44 at one end thereofwhich is rotatably received in bore 14A. of band 13A. The other end ofrod 43 is provided with a similar downwardly projecting portion 45 towhich one end of a chain 46 is connected. The other end of chain 46 isconnected to the approximate center of projection 37 by any conventionalmeans as by passing through an aperture therein. It is to be noted thatchain 46 is by way of example not by way of limitation. That is, chain46 may be replaced by a cord or even by a rigid element withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. Rotation of arms 34, 35 and,concomitantly, rotation of the magnets 38 and 39 through theaforementioned page-turning sweep is controlled by a perpendicularlyupwardly projecting rod 47 which abuts rod 43 and is movable toward theright as indicated by arrow 48 in FIG. 1 by depression of a pedalcontrol 49.

Pedal control is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4 and comprises aframe 60 having a base 60A and laterally extending, upwardly projectingside walls 60B, 60C. A shaft 49 extends longitudinally in frame 60 andis journalled in means (not shown) for rotational movement. Shaft 49 isconnected to rod 47 (FIG. 4); hence clockwise or counter-clockwiserotation of shaft 49 as taken in FIG. 4 will respectively cause shaft 47to move to the left or to the right as taken in FIG. 1. A bevel gear 49is afiixed to shaft 50, intermediate its ends, and is rotatabletherewith. A second bevel gear 55 is in meshing engagement with gear 50and is fixedly mounted on a shaft 56, intermediate its ends, and isrotatable therewith. Shaft 56 extends laterally in frame 60 and the endsof shaft 56 are respectively journalled in side walls 60B, 60C. In otherwords, shaft 56 is perpendicular to the shaft 49 so that the rotation ofthe shaft 56 in one plane causes rotation of the shaft 49 in aperpendicular plane. A pinion 57 is similarly fixedly mounted on shaft56 adjacent one end of the shaft. The foot pedals 51 and 52 arepivotally connected to side walls 60B, 600 by the respective pivotalconnections 64 and 65. Foot pedals 51 and 52 respectively terminate ingear segments 66 and 67 which are in meshing engagement with pinion 57on either side thereof. Spring 53 is located between base 60A and thebottom of pedal 52 and biases pedal 51 upwardly. Similarly, spring 54 islocated between the bottom of pedal 51 and base 60 and biases pedal 52upwardly. De pression of pedal 51 will cause rotation of shaft 56 in theclockwise direction, as taken in FIG. 3, through the connection of gearsegment 66 and pinion 57. This action will cause shaft 49 to rotate inthe counter-clockwise direction as taken in FIG. 4, through theconnection of gears of 55 and 50, to thereby move rod 47 in thedirection indicated by arrow 48. It will now be obvious that depressionof pedal 52 will cause rod 47 to move in a direction opposite to arrow48 (i.e., toward the left).

In the illustrative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the pages of book20 are adapted to be turned from left to right.

Thus, book 20 is placed on easel 10 and is supported by angle iron 11 inthe manner indicated above. It is to be noted that the spine 21 of book20 is located laterally offset to the left of shaft 30. When it isdesired to turn the page, pedal 51 is depressed by the foot of theoperator thereby causing rod 47 to move in the direction indicated byarrow 48. Rod 43 will therefore move toward the right, about portion 44thereby swinging arms 34, 35 outwardly and toward the right, about theaxis of shaft 30, and against the bias of springs 40, 41. Hence, magnets38 and 39 will cause the left hand page to rotate forwardly. Since spine21 is offset with respect to the axis of shaft 30, magnets 38 and 39will move laterally outwardly as the left hand page is turned over ontothe right hand page thereby releasing the page and allowing it to fallonto the right hand side of the book thereby effecting the turning ofthe page.

If it is desired to rotate the pages of the book from right to left thenthe book 20 is placed with the spine 21 laterally offset to the right ofshaft 30. Springs 40 and 41 may be compressed until respectivetransversely extending ends 40A, 40B, and 41A, 41B are free. Shaft 30may then be rotated so magnets 38 and 39 overlie and engage strips 42 onthe right hand pages of the book whereupon springs 40 and 41 may bepositioned to bias the respective arms into contact with the right handportion of the book. Projection 44 of rod 43 is received in bore 14B ofband 13B and pedal control 49 is rotated 180 so pedal 52 is nearest theoperator and rod 47 again abuts rod 43. When pedal 52 is depressed, rod47 will move toward the left in the manner indicated above, to therebyeffect page-turning from right to left by the same op eration aspage-turning is effected from left to right.

A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 5.This particular arrangement is adapted to be mounted on a desk D andpage-turning may be effected directly by the knee of the operator ratherthan by the arrangement comprising rod 47 and pedal control 100. Thus,the operative elements remain as shown in connection with the preferredembodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 with the exceptionthat tube 15 and feet 16 have been replaced by a rear support 7t). Moreparticularly, rear support 70 comprises a rectangular shaped elementwhich extends laterally with easel and is hingedly connected to the rearsurface of easel 10 by the hinge 73. Support 70 is adapted to be swungto a position whereby the bottom edge of support 79 is spaced from thebottom edge of easel 10, as shown in FIG. 5, to maintain easel 10 erect.Stop means (not shown) are provided to limit the movement of the bottomedge of support 70 away from easel 10. Moreover, additional means (notshown) are provided to lift easel 10 sulficiently to allow arm 35 toclear desk D.

In operation, rod 43 is positioned to be engaged by the knee of theoperator. Hence, movement of the knee toward the right will effectpage-turning in the same manner as page-turning is effected in thepreferred embodiment. It is to be noted that the device shown in FIG. 5is ideally suited for use in a hospital where a patient cannot use hishands.

Thus, in accordance with the above-mentioned objects, a page-turningassembly has been provided which is substantially simpler inconstruction and operation than prior art page-turning devices.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed, it will become obvious to those skilled in the art thatmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit orscope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A support and page-turning assembly for a book, said arrangementcomprising an easel; means on said easel for supporting a book in anupright, open position; a shaft extending transversely with said easeland mounted for turning movement about an axis parallel to the spine ofa book supported on said easel; a pair of arms projecting laterally fromthe opposite ends of said shaft; biasing means urging said shaft in anormal direction in which said arms are maintained in a page-holdingposition; each of said arms terminating in a page-gripping fingerpositioned to normally overlie and engage the upper and lower edges of apage at one side of the open book mounted thereon under the action ofsaid biasing means; means for selectively rotating said shaft in theopposite direction to move said arms through a pageturning sweep ofsubstantially 150, whereby the upper most page at said one side of thebook is turned by said gripping fingers to the other side of said book;the axis of said shaft being off-set from the spine of said book wherebysaid fingers move laterally out of gripping contact with said page afterthe latter is turned to said other side.

2. A supporting and page-turning assembly for a book as defined in claim1, wherein said page-gripping fingers comprise magnets adapted to engagemanetic strips connected to the respective upper and lower edges of thepages of said book.

3. A supporting and page-turning assembly for a book as defined in claim1, wherein said means for selectively rotating said shaft includes a rodrotatably mounted on said easel, connecting means connecting one of saidpair of arms and said rod, and means abutting said rod and movable in adirection away from said arms to rotate said rod away from said arms,whereby said connecting means causes said arms to move through saidpageturning sweep.

4. A supporting and page-turning assembly for a book as defined in claim1, wherein said biasing means is adapted to bias said shaft in adirection opposite to said normal direction to urge said fingers intocontact with said other side of the book; said means for selectivelyrotating said shaft in the opposite direction being adapted toselectively rotate the shaft in the normal direction when said biasingmeans urges the arms in said opposite direction; and the spine of saidbook being adapted to be offset on the other side of said shaft, wherebythe uppermost page at said other side of said shaft is turned by saidgripping fingers to said one side of said book to effect page-turning inthe opposite direction.

5. A supporting and page-turning assembly for a book as defined in claim1, and stand means for supporting said easel in an upright position,said stand means comprising a tube connected to said easel, and legsprovided at the other end of said tube for maintaining said tube andeasel erect.

6. A supporting and page-turning assembly for a book comprising aneasel, a shaft extending transversely with said easel and mounted forturning movement about a first axis; book support means on said easelfor supporting a book in an upright, open position with the spine ofsaid book lying on a second axis laterally offset from said first axis;a pair of arms projecting laterally from the opposite ends of saidshaft; biasing means urging said shaft in a first direction to maintainsaid arms in a normal position; each of said arms terminating inpagegripping fingers adapted to slidingly engage the pages of a book,the distance between said fingers and said first axis beingsubstantially greater than the distance between said fingers and saidsecond axis, and means for selectively rotating said shaft in adirection opposite to-said first direction to effect turning of thepages of a book.

7. A supporting and page-turning assembly for a book as defined in claim6, wherein said page-gripping fingers comprise permanent magnets adaptedto contact longitudinally extending magnetic strips on the pages of abook located adjacent top and bottom edges of the book.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 321,599 7/1885 Hathaway 845212,025,510 12/1935 Hysmith 84-521 2,391,174 12/ 1945 Malletta 84503FOREIGN PATENTS 247,5 23 5/ 1912 Germany.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

E. C. SIMMONS, Assistant Examiner.

